TSR’s John Carter Minatures Warfare Game (1974)

I’m looking forward to Walt Disney’s John Carter next month, I’m hoping it will at least contain a glimmer of what made me fall in love with Edgar Rice Burrough’s books so many years ago. What I’ve seen from the trailers so far makes me think that I’ll be pleasantly surprised by the film. Not quite as surprised though as when I stumbled on this post by the esteemed Mike Sterling of the Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin Blog. He got his hands on a 1974 Tactical Studies Rule book by THE Gary Gygax and Brian Blume of Dungeons and Dragons fame on how to create miniature warfare on Barsoom, John Carter Minatures Warfare Game.

This whole system is a mystery to me. Not a lot of people have mentioned it and all my searches on eBay have so far pulled up nothing. Now I have a “John Carter Minatures Warfare Game” search running, so if anything new shows up, I will add a followup to this post.

I was able to find this scanned image online as well showcasing some of the artwork within the rule book.

John Carter Minatures Warfare Game scanned page

I can honestly say, I have never heard of this rule book before, but I’m going to have to try and get my hands on it now!

Searching through the alleys for useful knowledge in the city of Nostalgia. Huge cinema fanatic and sometimes carrier of the flame for the weirding ways of 80s gaming, toys, and television. When his wife lets him he is quite happy sitting in the corner eating buckets of beef jerky.

5 thoughts on “TSR’s John Carter Minatures Warfare Game (1974)”

I always found Gygax’s rule-filled booklets terribly exciting (as well as practically impenetrably-complex).
It took the D&D Basic Set (with the red cover) to allow my friends and I to step into our imagination and travel and battle within.
But today, as a still-game-loving (and hopefully not too hare-brained) adult, these thorough rules sets are more alluring than ever.

I have a 98%-mint-condition copy of “Warriors of Mars.” I have seen a few reports that it fetches quite a price now that Gary has passed on. I only bought it back when it was published because of my interest in the subject. Not sure I want to part with now that it seems to be a collectors item.